The Vitruem
Leonardo da Vinci, the ultimate Renaissance polymath, was a visionary artist, inventor, and engineer. Among his many innovations, his mirror writing technique stands as a testament to his ingenuity. This method—writing in reverse from right to left, legible only through a mirror—frequently appears in his notebooks.
It is theorised that da Vinci’s fascination with mirrored script led him to design a device known as the Vitruem to encode the enigmatic Voynich Manuscript and its twin, I Segreti dei Savi—The Secrets of the Sages, believed to have been penned by 15th-century monk Father Bruni.
Bearing similarities to a kaleidoscope, this cylindrical instrument, crafted from polished brass, was engineered to manipulate light and reflection, unveiling hidden messages.
The Vitruem consists of multiple angled mirrors and lenses, carefully arranged to create a complex interplay of reflections and refractions. When the Manuscript is placed beneath it, the kaleidoscopic effect reveals concealed patterns and words, bringing clarity to the once-indecipherable script.
This remarkable invention exemplifies Leonardo da Vinci’s boundless creativity and insatiable curiosity, further solidifying his legacy as a pioneer of both science and art.
